Affirming Health

 

Positive Affirmations.

 It has been demonstrated that nearly 90% of our thoughts are negative, no wonder we find ourselves struggling. Each negative thought or word is a negative affirmation and can be even more powerful than positive affirmations because we often find them easier to accept.

What are Affirmations?

Every thought you think every word you say is an affirmation All of our self-talk or inner dialogue is a stream of affirmations. We are continually affirming subconsciously with our words and thoughts and this flow of affirmations is creating our life experience in every moment. Our beliefs are just learned thought patterns that we have developed since childhood, many of these work well for us, but others may now be working against us, they are dysfunctional and may be sabotaging us from achieving what we believe we want. Every affirmation we think or say is a reflection of our inner truth or beliefs. It is important to realize that many of these "inner truths" may not actually be true for us now or may be based on invalid or inappropriate impressions we constructed as children, which if examined as an adult can be exposed as inappropriate.

Our subconscious uses the behaviour patterns we have learned to automatically respond and react to many everyday events in our life. This is essential to our survival, we need to be able to respond quickly to events around us which would be impossible if we had to re-examine every aspect of things every time something simple happens. Our learned responses and thought patterns enable us to automatically respond to circumstances quickly and easily. Problems arise however, if at an early stage some of the foundation beliefs on which many of the others are built were formed from a skewed perspective, maybe the strategy was appropriate for a perceived difficult circumstance, however often such beliefs are totally inappropriate for succeeding in the real world as adults.

You can use "Positive Affirmations", which are usually short positive statements targeted at a specific subconscious set of beliefs, to challenge  and undermine negative beliefs and to replace them with positive self-nurturing beliefs. It is a kind of "brainwashing" only you get to choose which negative beliefs to wash away. The way these statements are constructed is extremely important. Later I will show you how to construct you own affirmations. It is important to remember of course that everything we say and think is a positive affirmation, using positive affirmation statements forces us to keep focussed on our inner goals and reminds us to think consciously about our words and thoughts and to modify them to reflect our positive affirmation.

Positive affirmations are designed to challenge those negative beliefs and start to stem the flow of negative thoughts and words that seek to validate them. Affirmations are more than just repeating words. It is a whole process of becoming aware of your thoughts and words in everyday life, choosing to think and project happy positive thoughts. The more you can consciously inject the spirit of you affirmations into your daily thoughts and words, the quicker they will work for you.

How to create your own affirmations

Start by taking some time to think about areas in your life you would like to improve and how you might want your life to be. It is worth taking some time over this process. Write the most important ones down in a list.

Now look at each item on the list and write out a few positive statements for each. They must be positive and in the present tense, focus on what you do want, not on what you don't want.

For example if my list of things that were important to me included...

"A fulfilling job"

My affirmation might look like this

�I have a wonderful job that fulfils me on many levels�

Creating your own affirmations is the perfect way to get the right affirmations for you. If have included a few further samples below, as well as links to some affirmation lists (above). These should give you a good idea on how they should look and feel. If you sign up to the AffirmIt! program you will receive very specialised affirmations that are designed to tackle specific issues as you commence and progress through the process. For example, in the early stages, some of the affirmations you will receive will be "releasing" in nature, these are designed to assist you in overcoming any initial resistance to the process. Here is an example of a very simple releasing affirmation.

"I am ready and willing to release the past, now"

If you would like to see a few affirmation examples and have a bit of fun try out our "affirmation cards", you select your own affirmation from an online pack of affirmation cards!

 

Supercharging Affirmations

As I have said earlier, there are other techniques you can use that can super-charge the effectiveness of your affirmations. I will outline a few here briefly, if you are interested in really making your affirmations work and want even more details, this area is extensively covered in the the Basic Affirmation eGuide which you can download for free.

Affirmation Mirror work

Perhaps the most powerful way of using affirmations is to state them whilst looking in the mirror. Some of the most important messages you have received have been from people looking you straight in the eye. By looking yourself in the eye as you state your affirmation you magnify the importance of the message to yourself.

Written Affirmations

A great way of keeping your affirmation at the forefront of your mind is to write them down, leave notes or cards around so that you notice them throughout the day. The AffirmIt! program uses mobile technology to text powerful messages to you with the goal of keeping your mind focussed on your intention. Another idea is to write your affirmation down many times (10-20), this helps imprint it on your mind.

Say Affirmations with Passion

Say your affirmations with passion, the higher your emotional state as you say them, the more effective they are.

Sing or Chant Affirmations

One of the most effective ways to use affirmations is to sing them! The mind is much more accepting of affirmation messages when they are sung. If you have ever attended a Louise Hay "Heal your life Workshop", this technique is used extensively. Personally, I love them! If you want to listen to one click here.

Subliminal Affirmations

There are a number of techniques that attempt to by-pass the conscious mind and its resistance by transmitting the affirmations to you subliminally. There are a number of CD's available that include subliminal affirmations, the trouble with this technology is that it often comes unsupported and people expect it to simply work without doing anything for themselves. There is however a very powerful technique known as an "affirmation bath".  This is often used in workshops because it requires several people sitting around a person making positive statements about them. An Affirmation bath is a truly amazing experience, the multiple voices, coming from multiple directions, often simultaneously simply overwhelm the minds ability to resist what is being said and the positive affirmations slip straight through to the subconscious. It is normally impossible to experience this unless you can get a group of like minded people together or you attend a workshop. To enable you to experience this technique, we have included an "affirmation bath" on our affirmation CD, "Heartfelt - Affirmations to Release the Past".

Example Affirmations

Affirmations for Health

  • Every Cell in my body vibrates with energy and health
  • Loving myself heals my life. I nourish my mind, body and soul
  • My body heals quickly and easily

Affirmations for Abundance

  • I prosper wherever I turn and I know that I deserve prosperity of all kinds
  • The more grateful I am, the more reasons I find to be grateful
  • I pay my bills with love as I know abundance flows freely through me.

Affirmations for Love

  • I know that I deserve Love and accept it now
  • I give out Love and it is returned to me multiplied
  • I rejoice in the Love I encounter everyday

Affirmations for Romance

  • I have a wonderful partner and we are both happy and at peace
  • I release any desperation and allow love to find me
  • I attract only healthy relationships

Affirmations for Weight Loss

  • I am the perfect weight for me
  • I choose to make positive healthy choices for myself
  • I choose to exercise regularly

Affirmations for Self Esteem

  • When I believe in myself, so do others
  • I express my needs and feelings
  • I am my own unique self - special, creative and wonderful

Affirmations for Peace and Harmony

  • All my relationships are loving and harmonious
  • I am at peace
  • I trust in the process of life

Affirmations for Joy and Happiness

  • Life is a joy filled with delightful surprises
  • My life is a joy filled with love, fun and friendship all I need do is stop all criticism, forgive, relax and be open.
  • I choose love, joy and freedom, open my heart and allow wonderful things to flow into my life.




http://www.vitalaffirmations.com/affirmations.htm


How Do Affirmations Work?

Affirmations, when practiced deliberately and regularly, reinforce a chemical pathway in the brain, making the connection between two neurons stronger, and therefore more likely to conduct the same message again.

Think of a dry piece of flat land. When it rains, the water has no place to go, until it cuts a path through the land. At first, it is simply a small rivulet -- but as more water runs through it, it cuts a deeper and deeper indentation into the earth, and the deeper the indentation, the more water will ultimately run through it.

Affirmations work similarly. In neurology, this concept is summed up in the phrase, Neurons that fire together, wire together. Neural synapses that are seldom or never used get efficiently eliminated by the brain's cleaning crews, made up of glial cells. Neurons that are routinely fired in a specific pattern will strengthen their bond, "wiring together" in a complex network that will be automatically set off whenever a trigger is presented in one's everyday life


1) They're stated in the present tense.

An affirmation is more effective when stated in the present tense. For example; "I now have a wonderful job." Avoid affirming something in the future tense, e.g. "I am going to have a wonderful job" or the results will always be waiting to happen.

2) They express a positive statement.

Affirmations need to be stated in the most positive terms possible. Avoid negative statements. Affirm what you do want, rather than what you don't want. For example: "I am no longer sick." This is a negative statement. Instead, affirm: "I am now perfectly healthy in body, mind and spirit." This statement is much more powerful as it is positive and reinforces your desired goal and doesn't confuse your subconscious mind with the mention of the undesirable condition.

3) They're short and specific.

Short affirmations are easy to say, and have a far greater impact at the subconscious level than those which are long and wordy. Keeping them specific and to the point adds power as the idea is uncluttered by extraneous elements.

In addition, affirmations must be practiced regularly to have and keep their full effect on your thinking. As with your body, you must exercise your mind to see positive results.